Just try it once!

Bonjour! Hola! Jambo! Hello! Goedendag! Hallo! Ciao! Li-ho! Privet! Salut!

It's been an eventful week here in Switzeland. The week started off a little rough, but ended on a high note, which is always a great turnaround!

Now, if you are wondering about the title, it comes from a conversation I was having with someone, and even though the context I am using it in is a little difference, I feel like this applies to my life here, trying everything at least once and living it up:)

So, I went to school, what's new. Oh, but Wednesday, with my school, we went to Lausanne to go to the "cimenateque". So we met outside the train station at 8, and then walked to the theatre. Once in, there were TONS of other students there from different schools, and after everyone took their seats, these two ladies talked for an HOUR about how they used to make movies in the olden days, a.k.a. the 40's and 50's. I understood pretty much everything and was bored out of my mind, as was everyone else I think. So after that, the movie finally started, which was "Citizen Kane", an American movie made in 1941 by Orson Wells. And it was in English! With subtitles in French of course. It's amazing how much I miss hearing my native language, and not being invlolved in a conversation, but still understanding everything, and knowing you understood it correctly. But since I was SOOOO tired, because I had a long weekend and didn't have time to catch up on sleep, I fell asleep to my language, the love of my life. Haha. It was a nice little "siesta" as we say in French. After that film, the lady talked some more! Ugh. But after it ended, at 11:45, I met up with Zion, who goes to school in Lausanne, and we had the cheapest, best lunch yet in Switzerland. Manora. My new love. After English, Swiss bread, mashed potatoes, etc. Okay. Moving on. So after lunch, I headed back to school and that was that.

So. Friday, after I finished school at 12:35, I headed to Bern to meet up with Noemi, who lived with my family last year as an exchange student, and Robert Thompson, from Gardner, who hosted Noemi last year too and chose me to be in the Gardner program. My camera died after the 2nd picture I took, so the rest are Roberts, but here is a run-down:)

Beautiful Bern:)

Noemi and I in front of the National Swiss Governemt Building in Bern

Robert and I in Bern. Recognize the clock tower in the back, I put a picture up of that last time I went to Bern. I think I looke rather good in this picture. haha. If only every picture I took, I looked halfway decent.

This says "Barengraben". Bern is named after the bears. It's some long story I don't know, but basically, that's the outcome. And on the flag of the canton ( our equivelant to states) of Bern, there is the bear. So, in Bern, right along the river, they have 4 live bears that live there year long. And the name in Swiss German, because that's what they speak in Bern, is Barengraben. There you have it my friends:)

A sign that talks about the bear's diet. They had a bunch of these signs all over. I didn't realize that bears, or at least these ones, are omnivores. I thought they liked to eat meat, like people, like me. So I guess that's good news for me!

We actually got to watch the keeper throw the food (apples, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, potatoes) out into their habitat and then let the bears back in to find the food and eat it. Very interessting. Yes, very interessting indeed.

Noemi and I standing on on of the many bridges in Bern, with the city behind us:)
I have been meaning to get a picture of this for some time. In Switzerland, there is basically one vending machine, "Selecta"all over, with the same contents in each one. The usual, candy bars, chips, drinks, pregnancy tests, and condoms. Haha. I know. Amusing. So in this pictue, we have my favorite candy bar ever, Kinder, on the far left for 1.50, a pregnancy test (called "Maybe baby) for 15.00 in the middle, and on the far right, a box of condoms for 5.00. Below these items in the vending machine, are two rows of cannabis tea, a.k.a. tea with marijuana. So strange, these Swiss vending machines.

So after checking Bern out, we headed to Noemi's dad's house, where we were going to eat dinner. We had an AMAZING dinner and afterwards sat and talked with her family. It was so weird because I was in HER house with HER family instead of her in MY house with MY family. You know what I mean? But it was so cool to get to know them all! In this picture, from left to right are Noel, 16, brother and super tall, Johanna, 17, sister, Naja, 14, sister, Noemi's dad's girlfriend (I forgot her name!), me, Noemi, 18, haha, Noemi's dad, and Noemi's grandma. Her family was so sweet! I had a great time!

Now last year, I used to drive Noemi to school and such, but on Wednesday, she JUST passed her test and got her liscense! (Here in Switzerland, it is a LOT of money and a LOT of work to get your liscense) So after visiting with her family for a while, we decided to go drive around and we ended up at the McDonald's she works at (to pay for her liscense) and we got some ice cream:) So here is me, Noemi, and Noel, eating ice cream when it's 0 degrees outside. Lol. But it was totally good!

Then, we went back to her town, and we spent the night at her mom's house. Saturday, we then visited her aunt, and a giant chocolate store, and then I headed home, but it's just till next time!

Once I got back to my village, my conselor picked me up at the train station, with his wife, and son, who I'd never met before, to head to an exposition in Geneva that was about Medicine in the Moyen age, basically a LONG time ago. But first we picked up my conselor's niece, who wants to be a doctor too. The reason we were going is because my conselor is a doctor, I want to be one, Quentin (his son, 17) wants to be one, and Aurelia ( I think, something like that at least:) who is 17 and wants to be a doctor too:) So we headed there, but the exposition turned out to be a just books and was a little much for the "children: a.k.a. the 3 of us, so we just chilled. Then we went into the old part of Geneva, where we got McDonald's (the first time I got something other than a drink, or ice cream at a McDonald's here) and then walked around a found a little bistro to sit at. We had a really nice time and I really enjoyed their company! It's too bad they go to different school then me:( After an hour or two, we made our way back to the car and headed home. I got home at 7 and then had dinner with my family, skyped home, then off to bed. Since I was dead tired.

All in all, it was a great weekend! Now, here I am, procrastinating on studying for my chemistry test in my sweats, while eating amazing swiss bread and chocolate. Life is good.